British society regards Christians with scorn and is too ready to dismiss
believers as bigots who do not have a brain, according to the Archbishop of
Canterbury’s wife.

Jane Williams, a theologian and teacher, said many Christians felt uncomfortable talking about their beliefs and feared that doing so was “not politically correct”.

But “lazy” and “scornful” attitudes towards people of faith in Britain must be challenged, she said, urging Christians to be more prepared to “argue our corner”.

Mrs Williams’s remarks come amid warnings from Church leaders that the prevailing attitudes in politics and human rights law discriminate against Christians.

Writing in the Church Times, Mrs Williams said: “There is a fairly widespread assumption in the prevailing culture of Britain that people of faith rely on dogma and bigotry, and that no one with a brain can believe in God. I am exaggerating, of course, but you know what I mean.

“In the face of that kind of lazy, scornful dismissal of faith, Christians need to be able to argue our corner.”

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She said there were many reasons why Christians were reluctant to discuss their faith: “It is not cool; it is not politically correct; it can get you into trouble at work; it can be seen as infringing other people’s choices.”

But Christians should overcome their lack of confidence and be more prepared to tackle public questions about faith, she said.

Her comments come after the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, launched the “Not Ashamed” campaign urging Christians to stand up for their rights.

Lord Woolf, a former Lord Chief Justice, recently acknowledged that some legal cases against Christians had gone “too far”.

On Monday, Owen and Eunice Johns, a Christian couple from Derby, will learn the result of a judicial review into whether their local council should allow them to become foster parents. They were barred from fostering after they said their beliefs would prevent them telling a child that homosexuality was acceptable.